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Koby Clemens faces Beckett, Red Sox

Koby Clemens faces Beckett, Red Sox

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- It was a bit surreal for Astros prospect Koby Clemens to get the opportunity to start at first base against Josh Beckett and the Red Sox on Tuesday afternoon at City of Palms Park.

Clemens remembers City of Palms Park well from the days of his youth, when his father, Roger, was pitching for the Red Sox.

The Red Sox trained in Fort Myers for the Rocket's final four seasons with the club.

"I actually got to play here in a wooden bat world championship one time in high school, so it was cool then, too," said Koby Clemens. "It's going to be a lot of fun today. I'm just going to have a good time with it."

Roger Clemens was at City of Palms Park on Tuesday to watch Koby play. In his first at-bat, Clemens grounded out to third.

"Growing up as a kid, I remember coming to the ballpark [in Fort Myers] and watching my dad pitch," said Koby Clemens. "But more than anything, I remember going to the theme parks -- going over there. But we did a lot of stuff on the back field baseball-wise and had a lot of fun. It was just cool to be around the ballplayers and the experience."

Clemens, who was born in 1986, has fond memories of when his father played for the Sox.

"It was special. I remember the years in Boston were just phenomenal," said Koby. "We lived in Framingham. I remember going to the games, just going to the stadium, there was a different kind of smell with the meat and everything. Everything was just so great about it. I used to love watching all the games, watching Mo Vaughn and [Mike] Greenwell and all those guys. It was a lot of fun growing up being in Boston."

Ian Browne is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Brownie Points, and follow him on Twitter @IanMBrowne. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.